Has anyone had a 2.5 STi that hasn't crapped itself??

[tonyb1968]

rb5er said:

tonyb1968 said:

rb5er said:

Unless you have any evidence, any evidence at all of your percentage then yes you have indeed made it up.

Aeeing lots in a garage does not mean that you have a percentage figure to relate it to.

Show some proof or you are just making up random numbers and spouting bullst as truth.

Oh please, ive been around Subaru's for over 15 years, i have seen the effects of the 2.5 STI fallout, if ypu want exact figures then go ask the engine builders, for instance WMS are quite happy to tell you how many of these STI 2.5ltr engines, inc FSTI, they have rebuilt due to failures and how many enquiries they get PER DAY for rebuilds, that includes the 1 per day average they have in being rebuilt... of course witb only a 5% failure rate and this being only 1 engine builder, there isnt an issue with the STI EJ 257 engine... though the EJ255 does have a far better reliability record with very few failures.

It is said that the 2.5 is more prone to issues than the 2.0. This is likely true. All I said was that putting a 50% figure on it is likely pure fantasy, it could just be 5%. Chances are we will never know but theres no need to make up random "statistics".

You do know that 87.7% of statistics are made up don't you, oh look another random figure anyone can pluck out of the air. Without any evidence then there is no true statistic.

So a garage gets some enquiries....and? Means nothing.

I take it you missed the part where I mentioned that they have stated they on average do 1 2.5ltr rebuild per day? That is over 300 per year and that is just 1 engine builder, even if you say there are 6 decent engine builders and you average say 150 builds per company, that equates to 1200 rebuilds per year, 1200!!!!

I or the dealers I know (and these rebuilds only went to specific dealers who could actually rebuild these engine) have never seen one engine with such a high failurr rate, probably one of the reasons the jdm market keep these at 265ps in the FSTI and WRX STI auto's

[TEKNOPUG]

vxr2010 said:

I like Subarus as they are but a v8 would be interesting , shame Subaru created a problem with there Pistons and then did not accept there error , poor actions for a company , I will in the future want a new Sti , but would worry about the engine in the newer cars

A Boxer-8 (2 STi engines mated together) would be far more interesting

[Catatafish]

tonyb1968 said:

I take it you missed the part where I mentioned that they have stated they on average do 1 2.5ltr rebuild per day? That is over 300 per year and that is just 1 engine builder, even if you say there are 6 decent engine builders and you average say 150 builds per company, that equates to 1200 rebuilds per year, 1200!!!!

I or the dealers I know (and these rebuilds only went to specific dealers who could actually rebuild these engine) have never seen one engine with such a high failurr rate, probably one of the reasons the jdm market keep these at 265ps in the FSTI and WRX STI auto's

Case closed

How many stis have been sold in total?

How many rebuilds are "preventative" ie those particular engines never got the chance to fail and would have had no problem?

How many stis have had their engines rebuilt as a direct consequence of ringland etc.?

How many stis had a rebuild because of constant bouncing off the limiter?

Without knowing exactly the numbers above, you cannot state the %s

[tonyb1968]

Catatafish said:

tonyb1968 said:

I take it you missed the part where I mentioned that they have stated they on average do 1 2.5ltr rebuild per day? That is over 300 per year and that is just 1 engine builder, even if you say there are 6 decent engine builders and you average say 150 builds per company, that equates to 1200 rebuilds per year, 1200!!!!

I or the dealers I know (and these rebuilds only went to specific dealers who could actually rebuild these engine) have never seen one engine with such a high failurr rate, probably one of the reasons the jdm market keep these at 265ps in the FSTI and WRX STI auto's

Case closed

How many stis have been sold in total?

How many rebuilds are "preventative" ie those particular engines never got the chance to fail and would have had no problem?

How many stis have had their engines rebuilt as a direct consequence of ringland etc.?

How many stis had a rebuild because of constant bouncing off the limiter?

Without knowing exactly the numbers above, you cannot state the %s

The case isnt closed and never will be.
The highest sales figures for STI' sold in the UK was between 2003 and 2005, (official cars not imports, grey or parellel), and that averaged 5000 per year. This dropped a little with the 2006 cars due to the pound v yen, 2007 cars onwars even more due to engine failures in the 2006 cars as reported on the Subaru forums, the hatch in 2008 was unpopular due to the shape and struggled to sell 10% the amount of cars as they did in 2003-2005, plus more engine failures and IM blaming customers for hitting the red line in their cars... which has a limiter fitted to stop any damage being done, hence the safe engine limiter/limit that ALL manufacturers put on their cars to stop over revving, so either Subaru fked up with the engine rev limit or they messed up else where as no other manufacturer has issues with their cars and a rev limit..

IM treated their customers very badly and most walked away, a lot had owned Subaru's theough the 90's when they were restricted numbers to keep prices high, and then the dealers started leaving, not just because of the engine issues but unable to get basic parts, let alone having to wait months for other off the shelf items like brake discs and shock absorbers.

So engine rebuilds, preventative rebuilds? Why? You never had to do that with the 2ltr STI, yet if a standard or near standard 2.5 needs it... your point shot down in flames, sorry
Its one of the reasons I went JDM twin scroll (twice), no reliability issues, no ringland issue, no cracking between the bore issue, no oil pick up issue.

If you dont think there is an issue with the EJ257 then good for you, even the most experienced Subaru owners and tuners stay away from these like the plague, we are just waiting for the FA STI engine now but it seems to be a tad delayed, at least its a 2 ltr

[rb5er]

By knowing one garage does 300 rebuilds a year you still know absolutely nothing in regards of an actual percentage figure.

When you find out how many 2.5 sti's were sold and then exactly how many needed rebuilding due to design issues and not maintenance or tuning then you can do the maths and come back and give us a figure.

Until then you are just speculating by knowing one garage rebuilds them alot. Odd that you are not quite seeing this and just plucking figures out of the air and then wondering why nobody is taking your random figure as gospel.

Nobody is disputing the fact that they have a bit of a reputation for failing, they do seem to, but certainly disputing whether or not you know if the figure of failure is 50% as you alluded to or closer to 5%. Nobody knows unless you can track down how many engines there were and how many went pop and why.

Edited by rb5er on Sunday 14th February 11:11

[vxr2010]

As above it will be impossible to get a figure as was it ring land failure , wear and tear , head gaskets , I think the best way to look at it is newer 2.5 engines may have a piston weakness , my Pistons were fine at in the 2.5 on an 04 plate at 95,000 miles , they were changed as may as well as engine was rebuilt , I think the higher risk of issues is 2008 plus , but without writing to every one who had a newer Subaru you will never know , my opion as said above a well built 2.5 is a better all rounded than the 2 litre

[Stevenr]

Had no problems on mine personally,loved every minute of it and would happily have another.

All cars have problems,I just took the opinion that if it happened then it would have to be repaired,it didn't and the car is still going fine with someone else as far as I know.

[vxr2010]

I'm sure there's many cars out there that are fine , it would be nice to know the realistic accurate failure rate , it was a lot worse in the us due to crap fuel , I know a few people with Subarus and I only know of one car with piston problems it was an 07 2.5 Sti and it was not a ringland issue it was piston related though and was using a lot of oil , shame it was a nice spec d one in grey , I don't think it was looked after

[Mr Overboooost]

I know this is a fairly old thread but heres my 66 plate STI which st itself on cylinder #2 last month after only 6500 miles of use.
as you can see the ring lands have completely gone on this so still the usual unreliable engine but before anyone says theres has been really reliable this is something I found out :
1. some ej25 blocks left the factory out of tolerance meaning that some of the bores were almost oval(which mine were)
2 pistons are made of hypereutectic cast pistons with a high silicon content which makes them very hard but also brittle.
3: very close tolerances to help with emissions
4:map no as good as it could be (running a tad on the lean side again to get through emissions).
5:big problem with the engines in the hatches when they first came out(not sure about this one)
these are just a couple of thing I have found out recently by talking to various engine builders/mappers and Subaru specialists so they cant all be wrong.
you input is appreciated to confirm or not if what I am saying is the same as what you have heard or not

[BrownPantsRacing]

I've owned 2.5 engine WRX and STI's now for the last 10 years and so far not a single failure!

[tonyb1968]

Mr Overboooost said:

I know this is a fairly old thread but heres my 66 plate STI which st itself on cylinder #2 last month after only 6500 miles of use.
as you can see the ring lands have completely gone on this so still the usual unreliable engine but before anyone says theres has been really reliable this is something I found out :
1. some ej25 blocks left the factory out of tolerance meaning that some of the bores were almost oval(which mine were)
2 pistons are made of hypereutectic cast pistons with a high silicon content which makes them very hard but also brittle.
3: very close tolerances to help with emissions
4:map no as good as it could be (running a tad on the lean side again to get through emissions).
5:big problem with the engines in the hatches when they first came out(not sure about this one)
these are just a couple of thing I have found out recently by talking to various engine builders/mappers and Subaru specialists so they cant all be wrong.
you input is appreciated to confirm or not if what I am saying is the same as what you have heard or not

Not good on a new car, as for the hypereutectic cast pistons, its the design of them in the 2.5 STI that causes issues, the JDM ones on the 2ltr twin scroll's are stronger due to their design, running 450bhp isnt much of a problem for them.

You also have the issue of the map, I take it you were only ever running 98 ron plus SUL? (Vpower etc), but there is also a small chance of misfuelling by the delivery driver, adding 95 ron to the tank and really not having a fun day from that, most other cars (Golf R, Seat Cupra 290/300 etc) also need a minimum of 98 ron fuel to get the power out of them, BUT those can run 95 ron with a loss of power as the map adapts, on the STI it just doesn't seem anywhere near as capable of doing so.

[MDMA .]

Mr Overboooost said:

I know this is a fairly old thread but heres my 66 plate STI which st itself on cylinder #2 last month after only 6500 miles of use.
as you can see the ring lands have completely gone on this so still the usual unreliable engine but before anyone says theres has been really reliable this is something I found out :
1. some ej25 blocks left the factory out of tolerance meaning that some of the bores were almost oval(which mine were)
2 pistons are made of hypereutectic cast pistons with a high silicon content which makes them very hard but also brittle.
3: very close tolerances to help with emissions
4:map no as good as it could be (running a tad on the lean side again to get through emissions).
5:big problem with the engines in the hatches when they first came out(not sure about this one)
these are just a couple of thing I have found out recently by talking to various engine builders/mappers and Subaru specialists so they cant all be wrong.
you input is appreciated to confirm or not if what I am saying is the same as what you have heard or not

Is the car completely standard? If so, no issue being fixed under warranty.
Is it modified? If so, what does it have?

[rovermorris999]

I've just bought a Final Edition from a main dealer recommended to me on here who has dealt with performance Subarus since they were introduced to the UK. I specifically asked him about reliability and he said he'd seen ringland failures on 2008-11 cars (IIRC) but nothing on newer cars. A pinch of salt needed maybe but I'd already bought the car so no reason to lie and he knows these cars inside out. If it happens, it happens. The warranty is there for a few years, after that I'd just forge it. The car is so good to drive I'm happy to risk it.

[EddScott]

MDMA . said:

Is the car completely standard? If so, no issue being fixed under warranty.
Is it modified? If so, what does it have?

Thread on Scoobynet, OP said he'd fitted a K&N Typhoon CAI

[MDMA .]

EddScott said:

MDMA . said:

Is the car completely standard? If so, no issue being fixed under warranty.
Is it modified? If so, what does it have?

Thread on Scoobynet, OP said he'd fitted a K&N Typhoon CAI

Don't look on there. But probably bolted on and not remapped. Probably worse mod you could do without a remap afterwards. Anything fuel, boost, intake and exhaust related needs to be mapped after changing. To be safe at least.

Edited by MDMA . on Friday 12th January 14:49

[TartanPaint]

Congratulations on the 2.5 failure.

A forged, fixed, strengthened and remapped 2.5 is one of life's great pleasures, and a major failure is just the pre-requisite step towards happiness.

[Scobblelotcher]

I know failures were prolific between 8-11 (most between 60-100k miles) but unfortunately there has also been huge numbers of failures in the later cars as well. I think the 2.5 is a great road engine but not a reliable one.

I’d definitely get off the standard map. I keep looking at a 330s but I reckon I’d want a rebuild fund to go with it. I’ve had a couple of 2.0 engines rebuilt and loved it so it’s not always bad news

[bonesX]

Scobblelotcher said:

I know failures were prolific between 8-11 (most between 60-100k miles) but unfortunately there has also been huge numbers of failures in the later cars as well. I think the 2.5 is a great road engine but not a reliable one.

I’d definitely get off the standard map. I keep looking at a 330s but I reckon I’d want a rebuild fund to go with it. I’ve had a couple of 2.0 engines rebuilt and loved it so it’s not always bad news

Just buy one that's been already sorted, or a 2.0 JDM and have no worries and a better drive

[EddScott]

Scobblelotcher said:

unfortunately there has also been huge numbers of failures in the later cars as well.

Of the current models cars, other than the one above, I've seen one other failure. That car also failed within its warranty period and wasn't repaired. Would lead me to believe that car was also modded, badly.

[MDMA .]

EddScott said:

Of the current models cars, other than the one above, I've seen one other failure. That car also failed within its warranty period and wasn't repaired. Would lead me to believe that car was also modded, badly.

There's no other reason for it not to be repaired under warranty.